Figueroa Street is a major north-south street in

Los Angeles County, California Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the List of the most populous counties in the United States, most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, ...

, spanning from the

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

neighborhood of Wilmington north to Eagle Rock. A short, unconnected continuation of Figueroa Street runs just south of Marengo Drive in

Glendale Glendale is the anglicised version of the Gaelic Gleann Dail, which means ''valley of fertile, low-lying arable land''. It may refer to: Places Australia * Glendale, New South Wales ** Stockland Glendale, a shopping centre *Glendale, Queensland, ...

to Chevy Chase Drive in

La Cañada Flintridge LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figur ...

. The street is named for General

José Figueroa José Figueroa (1792 – 29 September 1835), was a General and the Mexican Governor of Alta California from 1833 to 1835. He wrote the first book to be published in California. Background and governorship Figueroa was a Mestizo of Spanish a ...

(1792 – September 29, 1835), governor of

Alta California Alta California ('Upper California'), also known as ('New California') among other names, was a province of New Spain, formally established in 1804. Along with the Baja California peninsula, it had previously comprised the province of , but ...

from 1833 to 1835, who oversaw the secularization of the

missions of California The Spanish missions in California ( es, Misiones españolas en California) comprise a series of 21 religious outposts or missions established between 1769 and 1833 in what is now the U.S. state of California. Founded by Catholic priests o ...

. On " Mamba Day", August 24, 2020, then-Los Angeles City Council President

Herb Wesson Herman J. "Herb" Wesson Jr. (born November 11, 1951) is an American politician who served as a City council, councilmember representing the Los Angeles City Council District 10, 10th District for three terms between July 1, 2005 and December 14, ...

and council member Curren Price announced plans to rename the segment of Figueroa Street between Olympic Boulevard and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard as Kobe Bryant Boulevard, in honor of professional basketball player Kobe Bryant.

Route description

Figueroa Street, Harbor Freeway, and S Broadway night aerial

One of the longer streets in the city, it runs in a north/south direction for more than 30 miles (48 km) from its southern terminus at Harry Bridges Boulevard in the Wilmington neighborhood to Chevy Chase Drive in the city of

at the north end. From its south end at Harry Bridges Boulevard to

Downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) contains the central business district of Los Angeles. In addition, it contains a diverse residential area of some 85,000 people, and covers . A 2013 study found that the district is home to over 500,000 jobs. It is ...

, Figueroa Street runs north parallel to the

Harbor Freeway A harbor (American English), harbour (British English; see spelling differences), or haven is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be docked. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with ''port'', which is a ...

( Interstate 110) in

South Los Angeles South Los Angeles, also known as South Central Los Angeles or simply South Central, is a region in southwestern Los Angeles County, lying mostly within the city limits of Los Angeles, south of downtown. It is "defined on Los Angeles city maps as ...

. The only portion of this segment of Figueroa Street that lies outside

city limits is in the city of

Carson Carson may refer to: People *Carson (surname), people with the surname *Carson (given name), people with the given name Places ;In the United States * Carson, California, a city * Carson Township, Fayette County, Illinois *Carson, Iowa, a city * ...

. South of the Los Angeles Financial District, Figueroa Street passes well-known locations including the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

, the

Los Angeles Convention Center The Los Angeles Convention Center is a convention center in the southwest section of downtown Los Angeles. It hosts multiple annual conventions and has often been used as a filming location in TV shows and movies. History The convention center, ...

, and

Crypto.com Arena Crypto.com Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Downtown Los Angeles. Adjacent to the L.A. Live development, it is located next to the Los Angeles Convention Center complex along Figueroa Street. The arena opened on October 17, 1999; it w ...

L.A. Live L.A. Live is an entertainment complex in the South Park District of Downtown Los Angeles, California. It is adjacent to the Crypto.com Arena and Los Angeles Convention Center. L.A. Live was developed by Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), Wach ...

. Between Olympic Boulevard and 3rd Street in downtown Los Angeles, Figueroa Street forms a

one-way pair A one-way pair, one-way couple, or couplet refers to that portion of a bi-directional traffic facilitysuch as a road, bus, streetcar, or light rail linewhere its opposing flows exist as two independent and roughly parallel facilities. Descriptio ...

with Flower Street, with northbound traffic staying on Figueroa and southbound traffic diverting to Flower. After passing through downtown near Bunker Hill and

South Park ''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boys Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand th ...

, the southern portion of Figueroa Street ends near the overcrossing of

Sunset Boulevard Sunset Boulevard is a boulevard in the central and western part of Los Angeles, California, that stretches from the Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades east to Figueroa Street in Downtown Los Angeles. It is a major thoroughfare in t ...

over the

Arroyo Seco Parkway The Arroyo Seco Parkway, also known as the Pasadena Freeway, is one of the oldest freeways built in the United States. It connects Los Angeles with Pasadena alongside the Arroyo Seco seasonal river. It is notable not only for being an early f ...

(SR 110) in

Chinatown A Chinatown () is an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa and Austra ...

. The northern portion of the street resumes at

San Fernando Road San Fernando Road is a major street in the City of Los Angeles and Los Angeles County. Within the Burbank city limits it is signed as San Fernando Boulevard, and north of Newhall Pass it is signed as The Old Road. It was previously designate ...

in Cypress Park. An early routing of Figueroa Street in this area was originally part of

U.S. Route 66 U.S. Route 66 or U.S. Highway 66 (US 66 or Route 66) was one of the original highways in the United States Numbered Highway System. It was established on November 11, 1926, with road signs erected the following year. The h ...

, today a part of the Arroyo Seco Parkway (State Route 110). The noted Figueroa Street Tunnels were once a part of that same stretch of roadway. Aerial photo of Highland Park's Main Street, Figueroa

Aerial photo of Highland Park's Main Street, Figueroa

After resuming at San Fernando Road, Figueroa continues to run roughly parallel to the Arroyo Seco Parkway until it reaches York Boulevard in Highland Park. Afterwards, it heads north to its terminus near the Scholl Canyon Landfill just past its junction with the

Ventura Freeway The Ventura Freeway is a freeway in southern California, United States, running from the Santa Barbara/ Ventura county line to Pasadena in Los Angeles County. It is the principal east-west route (designated north-south) through Ventura Count ...

(State Route 134) in Eagle Rock. A short, unconnected continuation of Figueroa Street runs from a residential area just south of Marengo Drive in

to end at Chevy Chase Drive just over the city limit line in

. Early maps produced by the

Automobile Club of Southern California The Automobile Club of Southern California is the Southern California affiliate of the American Automobile Association (AAA) federation of motor clubs. The Auto Club was founded on December 13, 1900, in Los Angeles as one of the nation's first mot ...

measured distances to Los Angeles from the club's headquarters at the intersection of Figueroa Street with Adams Boulevard.

History

Figueroa was originally called ''Calle de los Chapules'' (or Grasshopper Street). Chapules (or chapul in the singular form) is not the standard Spanish word for grasshopper which is saltamonte. Chapul is from the

Nahuatl Nahuatl (; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahua peoples, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have smaller ...

Durango Durango (), officially named Estado Libre y Soberano de Durango ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Durango; Tepehuán: ''Korian''; Nahuatl: ''Tepēhuahcān''), is one of the 31 states which make up the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico, situated in ...

and

Nayarit Nayarit (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Nayarit ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Nayarit), is one of the 31 states that, along with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 20 municipalities and its ...

(also known as

Mexicanero The Mexicaneros are an indigenous people of Durango and Nayarit, Mexico. They are one of the 62 original cultures of Mexico. They speak the Mexicanero language, one of the Nahuatl dialects. Some 1,300 individuals spoke the Mexicanero language as o ...

) and means grasshopper. Later in the 1880s it became known as "Pearl Street". Figueroa Street originally was a few blocks west of Pearl but joined Pearl Street further south. Pearl Street was changed to Figueroa and the northern portion of the old Figueroa Street was renamed Boylston. The section of what is now Figueroa in Highland Park above Avenue 39 was known as "Pasadena Avenue" until Figueroa was extended through Elysian Park. The portion of what is now Figueroa between the Los Angeles River and Avenue 39 was originally known as Dayton Avenue until the Arroyo Parkway went through. Prior to construction of the

, Figueroa St. carried

U.S. Route 6 U.S. Route 6 (US 6), also called the Grand Army of the Republic Highway, honoring the American Civil War veterans association, is a main route of the U.S. Highway system. While it currently runs east-northeast from Bishop, California, to P ...

to Pacific Coast Highway south from the Four-Level Interchange. Until 1977, the

Guinness Book of Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

claimed Figueroa as the longest street in the world, at the request of writer Jay Myers, it was supplanted by

Yonge Street Yonge Street (; pronounced "young") is a major arterial route in the Canadian province of Ontario connecting the shores of Lake Ontario in Toronto to Lake Simcoe, a gateway to the Upper Great Lakes. Once the southernmost leg of provincial Hi ...

in Toronto.Zena Cherry, "The Great Canadian Road". ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'', September 2, 1977. On April 2, 2011, a portion of Figueroa Street at

Jefferson Boulevard Jefferson Boulevard is a street in Los Angeles and Culver City, California. Its eastern terminus is at Central Avenue east of Exposition Park. At its entrance to Culver City, it splits with National Boulevard. North of Sawtelle Boulevard, it ...

was blocked off for the "Orange Carpet" and the grandstand for the broadcasting of the 2011 Kids' Choice Awards. In

, Figueroa Street has the highest number of prostitution-related arrests in Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Lakers, the Los Angeles Kings and Los Angeles

Rams In engineering, RAMS (reliability, availability, maintainability and safety)Herb Wesson Herman J. "Herb" Wesson Jr. (born November 11, 1951) is an American politician who served as a City council, councilmember representing the Los Angeles City Council District 10, 10th District for three terms between July 1, 2005 and December 14, ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player Kobe Bryant, who along with his daughter Gianna and seven others were killed in a helicopter crash on January 26, 2020. The segment of Figueroa between Olympic and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard passes by the

, the home to the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

who Bryant played with throughout his entire 20-year career and is dubbed the "House that Kobe built". In October 21, 2020, the vote to consider the proposal was delayed by the council, and a new date has yet to be stated .

"My Figueroa" development plan and 2028 Summer Olympics

The Figueroa Corridor Streetscape project is a city led effort to beautify and improve the boulevard by adding pedestrian friendly amenities. The beautification project began on 7th street in Downtown Los Angeles, by Crypto.com Arena and terminates at Exposition Park at USC. The project began in 2017 and was completed by the end of 2018. It aimed to improve transit and pedestrian access, protected bike lanes totally protected by physical barriers, a more organized and efficient street by adding better signalization and signage, high-visibility crosswalks, transit platforms, more street trees, public art and wider sidewalks. The $20 million Figueroa Corridor Streetscape project was funded by a Proposition 1C grant. After delays, work was expected to commence in the summer of 2016 and was expected to be completed by March 2017, when the prop 1C grant expired. The

Los Angeles 2028 The 2028 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXXIV Olympiad, also known as Los Angeles 2028 or LA28) is an upcoming international multi-sport event scheduled to take place from July 14 to July 30, 2028, in and around Los Angeles, Cali ...

organizing committee plan to use this corridor as a planned "Live Site", an area dedicated as a central pedestrian corridor, linking all of the Downtown LA venues together during the 2028 Olympic & Paralympic Games.

Major intersections

Transportation

The Metro C and J lines operate a station underneath Interstate 105 at Figueroa Street.

Metro Local Los Angeles Metro Bus is the transit bus service in Los Angeles County, California operated by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro). In , the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of . , there ar ...

Line 81 operates on Figueroa Street between Colorado Boulevard and Interstate 105 and

Torrance Transit Torrance Transit is a transit agency primarily serving the South Bay region of Los Angeles County. In , the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of . History Torrance Transit inaugurated service on January 15, 1940 using thre ...

Line 1 between Interstate 105 and the

Harbor Gateway Transit Center Harbor Gateway Transit Center, formerly Artesia Transit Center, is a large bus station at the southern end of the Harbor Transitway that serves as a transport hub (known locally as a transit center) for the South Bay region of Los Angeles Count ...

. The

Metro E Line The Metro E Line is a planned bus rapid transit route in Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Edina. The route will operate from Southdale Center Transit Center in Edina, Minnesota to Westgate station in St. Paul. Running mostly on France Avenue, Hennepi ...

has 5 stations nearby. Two of which are shared with the

Metro A Line The Metro A Line is a bus rapid transit line in the Twin Cities, Minnesota operated by Metro Transit. The A Line operates primarily along the Snelling Avenue corridor and travels through the cities of Minneapolis, Saint Paul, Falcon Heights, ...

, one being a major hub connecting to the Metro B and D lines. The Metro J Line runs on Figueroa Street in Gardena and between 23rd and 6th Streets in Downtown: Northbound J line trips to

El Monte Bus Station El Monte Station is a large regional bus station in the city of El Monte, California, United States, adjacent to Interstate 10, serving the Metro J Line, Foothill Transit, Greyhound Lines, and El Monte Transit. It is the Metro J Line's easter ...

continue north on Figueroa Street to serve the 7th Street / Metro Center and finally turn right on 6th street, leaving Figueroa Street. Southbound J Line trips to

or San Pedro run south on Flower Street from 5th Street to the Harbor Transitway. There are 6 J Line street stops located on Figueroa Street: Figueroa/190th/Victoria; Northbound only: Figueroa/23rd, Figueroa/Washington, Figueroa/Pico, Figueroa/Olympic, and Figueroa/7th . In addition, there are 7 Metro J Line Stations served on the

Harbor Transitway The Harbor Transitway (also known as the I-110 Express Lanes) is a shared-use express bus corridor (known as a busway or transitway) and high occupancy toll (HOT) lanes running in the median of Interstate 110 (Harbor Freeway) between Downtown ...

and Harbor Freeway close to Figueroa Street:

37th Street/USC 37th Street/USC station is a busway station located in Los Angeles, California. It is situated between the LATTC/Ortho Institute and Slauson stations on the J Line, a bus rapid transit route which runs between El Monte, Downtown Los Angel ...

, Slauson,

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, Harbor Freeway (with C Line connection), Rosecrans,

, and Pacific Coast Hwy. The Harbor Transitway is located on the I-110 freeway, between Figueroa Street and Broadway. There are also three Metro L Line stations near Figueroa Street: Lincoln/Cypress (at Avenue 26),

Southwest Museum The Southwest Museum of the American Indian is a museum, library, and archive located in the Mt. Washington neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, above the north-western bank of the Arroyo Seco (Los Angeles County) canyon and stream. The muse ...

, and Highland Park (at Avenue 57).

Notable landmarks

Banc of California Stadium Banc of California Stadium is a soccer-specific stadium in the Exposition Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It is the home of Major League Soccer's Los Angeles FC and the National Women's Soccer League's Angel City FC. Opened on ...

* Bob Hope Patriotic Hall *

Bonaventure Hotel The Westin Bonaventure Hotel and Suites is a , 33- story hotel in Los Angeles, California, constructed between 1974 and 1976. It was designed by architect John C. Portman Jr.. The top floor has a revolving restaurant and bar. It was originally ...

* Eagle Rock Historical Landmark * Engine Co. 28 (1912 fire station) * Exposition Park, including an historic palm tree moved there in 1914 * Hotel Figueroa (opened 1926, originally for women only) * Flower Drive Historic District *

Galen Center The Galen Center is a multipurpose indoor arena and athletic facility owned and operated by the University of Southern California. Located at the southeast corner of Jefferson Boulevard and Figueroa Street in the Exposition Park (Los Angeles), Exp ...

* The Grammy Museum * Highland Park Adult Senior Citizen Center *

Jonathan Club __NOTOC__ Jonathan Club is a social club with two California locations—one in Downtown Los Angeles and the other abutting the beach in Santa Monica. The club is routinely ranked as one of the top clubs in the world by Platinum Clubs of Amer ...

* Los Angeles County Health Department *

Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (also known as the L.A. Coliseum) is a multi-purpose stadium in the Exposition Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Conceived as a hallmark of civic pride, the Coliseum was commissioned in 1921 as a mem ...

* Original Pantry Cafe * St. Vincent de Paul Church *

Stimson House Stimson House is a Richardsonian Romanesque mansion in the University Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. Built in 1891, it was the home of lumber and banking millionaire Thomas Douglas Stimson. During Stimson's lifetime, the house survived a dy ...

* State Bar of California *

* Variety Arts Center Building *

Wilshire Grand Tower Wilshire Grand Center is a skyscraper in the financial district of downtown Los Angeles, California, occupying the entire city block between Wilshire Boulevard and 7th, Figueroa, and Francisco streets. Completed in 2017, it is the tallest b ...

Education

* Luther Burbank Middle School *

Florence Nightingale Florence Nightingale (; 12 May 1820 – 13 August 1910) was an English Reform movement, social reformer, statistician and the founder of modern nursing. Nightingale came to prominence while serving as a manager and trainer of nurses during t ...

Middle School * Optimist High School * Sycamore Grove School *

Buildings on Figueroa

File:Westin_Bonaventure_Hotel.jpg, Bonaventure Hotel, 404 South Figueroa File:Jonathan_club_1.jpg, Jonathan Club, 545 South Figueroa File:Engine_Co._No._28,_Los_Angeles.JPG, Engine Co. 28, 644 South Figueroa (1912 fire station) File:HSBC Building, 7th and Figueroa, Los Angeles, CA, 2012.jpg, HSBC Building at Seventh Street, 2012 File:Original_Pantry_Cafe_Los_Angeles.jpg, Original Pantry Cafe, 9th Street and Figueroa File:Friday Morning Club, 938-940 South Figueroa Street, Los Angeles (Los Angeles County, California).jpg, Variety Arts Center Building, 938-940 South Figueroa, 1980, ''Julius Shulman photo'' File:The_Figueroa_Hotel._Los_Angeles_California_-_panoramio.jpg, Hotel Figueroa, 939 South Figueroa (photo 2009) File:Los_Angeles_Convention_Center.JPG, Los Angeles Convention Center at Pico Boulevard and Figueroa File:Patriotic_hall_4_full.jpg, Bob Hope Patriotic Hall, 1816 South Figueroa File:Stimson_house_los_angeles_2008-07-31.jpg, Stimson House (1891), 2421 South Figueroa File:St._Vincent_de_Paul_Catholic_Church_(Los_Angeles).jpg, St Vincent de Paul Catholic Church, Figueroa at Adams Boulevard (NorthWest corner) File:Automobile_Club_of_Southern_California.jpg, Automobile Club of Southern California, Figueroa at Adams Boulevard (SouthWest corner) File:Felix_Chevrolet,_Los_Angeles,_California_LCCN2017707650.tif, Felix Chevrolet (iconic neon sign), Figueroa at Jefferson Boulevard (photo: John Margolies, 1977) File:Galencenter2007.jpg, Galen Center on the USC campus at Jefferson Boulevard, 2007 File:Palm_tree_expo_park_banc_california_stadium.jpg, Banc of California Stadium, Exposition Park, and historic palm tree

Appearances in popular culture

The Figueroa corridor was featured by

Huell Howser Huell Burnley Howser (October 18, 1945 – January 7, 2013) was an American television personality, actor, producer, writer, singer, and voice artist, best known for hosting, producing, and writing ''California's Gold'' and his human interest sh ...

in ''Road Trip'', episode 103.

References

External links

{{Streets in Los Angeles Streets in Los Angeles Streets in Los Angeles County, California Downtown Los Angeles South Los Angeles Carson, California U.S. Route 6 U.S. Route 66 in California Venues of the 2028 Summer Olympics